About Ohio Authority
OhioAuthority.com is a fully interactive web magazine that features a wealth of regionally driven editorial content. As Ohio’s premier online magazine, OhioAuthority.com features award-winning writers and experts who connect readers to the community with contemporary coverage of the region’s best and brightest. Readers will find stories from the culinary world, arts community, entertainment industry and fashion scene, in addition to the latest home and garden trends, and health and education news. A professional team of experienced editors and designers manages OhioAuthority.com. The editorial tone is positive in nature and builds excitement about our region as a great place to live, work and play.
Authors and Contributors
Ivan Sheehan
ivan@ohioauthority.com / Editor
Although he was born in Dublin, Ireland, Ivan J. Sheehan has called northeast Ohio home for more than 25 years. The Ohio University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism grad worked in various editorial capacities for Northern Ohio Live magazine, most recently as Senior Editor/Food&Drink. His work has appeared in national publications, such as Blender.com, Restaurant Hospitality, Living Without magazine and Gayot.com. He has made multiple appearances on WCPN 90.3FM 's Around Noon radio show, and as a guest on the Emmy award–winning Live From the Circle TV program. He enjoys the occasional strong drink, and earned an Advanced Certificate from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, cultivating a fascination with wine. He is a capable cook, though ever thankful he lives in one of America's finest culinary destinations. He enjoys tinkering with his '66 Vespa VBB, and ogling autos he'll likely never drive.
Latest: Going for Baroque, posted in Arts
Sarah Sphar
sarah@ohioauthority.com / Editor
Sarah R. Sphar has been a northeast Ohio-based writer and editor for more than ten years. Her experience includes writing news and features for national trade magazines and regional consumer titles, including a five-year stint as editor-in-chief of Northern Ohio Live. Her work has also been published online at the travel and dining site Gayot.com and the late, lamented humor site BlackTable.com. She is a decidedly amateur photographer, a better than average baker, a witheringly astute critic (of anything, just ask) and an avid reader.
Latest: Drinking Stories: Zinc Bistro, posted in Food & Drink
Ben Borowski
ben.borowski@typeoneerror.com / Designer/Developer
Ben Borowski is the interactive director and owner of Typeoneerror Studios (typeoneerror.com). A graduate from the Cleveland Institute of Art and native of Ohio, Ben has learned to love his Ohio sports from afar in his current home town of Seattle. Ben designs and develops engaging interactive experiences for the web; when Ohio Authority approached Typeoneerror to design and develop the site, he was thrilled to get back into the Northeast Ohio world. Ben spends his free time loving cats and growing beards.
Eric Hollenbeck
ehollenbeck@ohioauthority.com / Site Representative
Eric Hollenbeck is an upstate New York native that recently relocated to Cleveland from Charlotte, North Carolina. A Mercyhurst College graduate, he has worked in TV/film production, branding, radio, and advertising. He felt that working at an online magazine would be the next logical progression to filling his career void. Eric hopes to one day make one of his own movies, invent something amazing, write a random book that is sold exclusively at Urban Outfitters and host his own travel show. He is a huge fan of breakfast, has discovered that drinking and finishing two beers while grilling a steak cooks it long enough to be medium well, enjoys eating ice cream and watching movies with his fiancé Anne and hopes to get a dog one day soon.
Kristen Ashenbach
kashenbach@gmail.com / Writer
Kristen M. Ashenbach was born in Lorain, Ohio, and began theater performances at the age of five. She nurtured a love of acting and dance through her college years at Ohio University, where she earned a bachelor’s in psychology. As Ashenbach’s own autoimmune health struggles throughout the years began to multiply, she looked to find alternative ways to subside or even eradicate symptoms. Her ongoing study of different treatments ranging from diet therapy to chiropractic treatments to aromatherapy to Rolfing (to name a few) has helped in her constant journey toward health. In the spring of 2009, she finished her chef’s training certification at the Natural Gourmet Health Institute in New York City, NY. The school’s mission is devoted to the natural healing modalities of food, use of whole foods and quality ingredients, as well as medicinal cooking and food allergies. She is currently studying through a distance-learning program, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, based in New York, to become a certified health counselor. She is a certified Pilates instructor, enjoys outdoor sports and activities, reading, meditation and prayer, and has a current love/hate relationship with Facebook.
Latest: Healthy Elixir, posted in Health & Education
Gail Bellamy
bellamy.gail@gmail.com / Writer
Gail Bellamy is the 2009 City of Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate and the author of Cleveland Food Memories (Gray & Co.) and Design Spirits: Bars, Brewpubs and Techno Clubs (St. Martin’s Press), as well as two poetry collections—Victual Reality and Traveler’s Salad (both part of the Pudding House Chapbook Series). She is executive food editor of a national trade magazine for the restaurant industry, and radio host of the weekly program Dinner Plans, heard in the Cleveland area on WELW 1330 AM.
Latest: Broken Letters of the Heart, posted in Region
Lori Brandt
lorilbrandt@gmail.com / Writer
Lori Brandt is a writer specializing in education and health. She began her career as a reporter writing for the University of Akron's newspaper while earning a degree in journalism/creative writing. The mother of two went on to work for Northern Ohio Live magazine in Cleveland as assistant editor and now works as a freelance writer. Brandt resides in northeast Ohio and offers her readers informative information on the latest regional developments in the medical and educational fields.
Latest: A Critical Need, posted in Health & Education
Doan Buu
doanbuu@gmail.com / Illustrator
Doan Buu is a Cleveland native who currently resides in New York City. Buu, a Cleveland Institute of Art graduate, is a graphic designer and the two-year reigning "Dancing With The Staff" dance champion at the Rachael Ray Show. When not accepting challenges for his crown, Buu works as the show's package and props designer, while doing everything from illustration to web design in his spare time (www.dbuu.com). Aside from work, Buu appreciates the simple things in life, such as eating, drinking, sleeping and playing in a punk band.
Julie Cajigas
julie@inspiredfreelancer.com / Writer
Julie A Cajigas is a Northeast Ohio-based freelance writer and owner of Inspired Copy & Communications, a copywriting and public relations firm. She is a regular contributor to several national trade magazines and works locally and nationally with marketing firms and corporate clients. Her writing has appeared locally in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and on CoolCleveland.com. Cajigas is also an avid vocalist and violinist who performs regularly in Cleveland with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and the Allison Bencar band. She holds undergraduate degrees in Music and Communication from Cleveland State University and is currently pursuing a Masters in Communication there.
Latest: Building Unity, posted in Health & Education
Bridget Callahan
sharpshinyclaws@gmail.com / Writer
Born and raised in Cleveland, there are three things in life Bridget needs to be happy: a computer, a car and an industrial wasteland. Oh, and a lake. So four things. Everything else is incidental. She is currently praying that someday she will be "discovered", though she's a little uncertain what that actually means. If you know, she'll gladly buy you a drink. In the meantime, she writes at Bridget Callahan is Your Best Friend, which she personally guarantees will be more interesting than shopping for shoes online, unless you are just really into shoes.
Latest: Drinking Stories: Zinc Bistro, posted in Food & Drink
Peter Chakerian
peter_chakerian@yahoo.com / Writer
A lifelong Northeast Ohio resident and award-winning writer, Chakerian is the author of The Browns Fan’s Tailgating Guide (Gray & Company) and Pop Goes Cleveland! The Impact of Cleveland (and Northeast Ohio) on Pop Culture (Cleveland Landmarks Press). Over the course of two decades, he's written about arts, culture and entertainment for The Plain Dealer, Akron Beacon Journal, Northern Ohio Live, Cleveland Magazine, Scene and dozens of other publications throughout the Midwest. He most recently served as the Managing Editor of CoolCleveland.com. Chakerian is a work-at-home-stay-at-home dad who enjoys a good beer, downtempo electronic music, rustic cooking, futbol (and football), late 1970s popular culture and has more interests than time. Keep up with him on his blog, Joyrides for Shut-Ins.
Latest: Fresh Start: Week of July 26, posted in Region
Brandon Chrostowski
bechrostowski@yahoo.com /
Brandon Chrostowski has been involved with some of the world’s finest restaurants for over a decade. The recipient of an Associate’s degree in Culinary Arts and a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Restaurant Management from The Culinary Institute of America, he apprenticed at the legendary Charlie Trotters in Chicago. Ever the jet-setter, Brandon’s next stop was at Lucas Carton, Paris’ longest-standing Michelin 3-star restaurant. The intricacies of a French kitchen provided cutting-edge experience. Brandon later returned stateside to New York City, where he worked at Le Cirque as a Chef de Partie and later as a saucier at Picholine. Having been in the kitchen for several years, Brandon chose to expand his restaurant knowledge by working in the dining room at Le Pavilion, a small gem tucked away in upstate New York and owned and operated by former CIA instructor Claude Guermont. During another stint in New York City, Brandon had the opportunity to manage Chanterelle, a New York Times and James Beard award-winning restaurant, where he worked under the tutelage of restaurateurs Karen and David Waltuck. While at Chanterelle, Brandon worked closely with Master Sommelier Roger Dagorn in pursuit of becoming a sommelier, and ultimately became certified through the Court of Master Sommeliers. He is currently the manager at L'Albatros Brasserie + Bar.
Latest: The Cultured Palate: Cigars and Cognac, posted in Food & Drink
Chris C. Davis
chriscdavi@gmail.com / Writer
Chris is a Columbus, Ohio, resident. He recently sold his small retail business in hopes of pursuing a career in advertising, as a copywriter. He is an avid reader, an audiophile with an anglophilic slant, an imbiber of large quantities of coffee (and sometimes Scotch), a lover of great food and wine, a passionate fan of ice hockey, a frustrated observer of politics, a wide-eyed admirer of art and design, and a frequent accidental giver of unsolicited opinions. He considers a day where he doesn’t learn anything new a wasted day. And, though he’s not religious, he tries to live his life by the golden rule (unless you’ve done something to upset him). He also has and on-again, off-again relationship with his blog, The Waste Land Chronicle.
Latest: Sound Notes: The Black Keys, posted in Arts
José Feliciano Jr.
josefelicianojr@gmail.com / Writer
While attending Muskingum College, José Feliciano Jr. entertained listeners on WMCO 90.7 FM, helping shape the station as a DJ and music director. For the past four years, José and his wife have maintained the music and culture blog, Sensory Overload. José is actively involved in civic development as president of the Young Latino Network and co-chair for the Civic Area Involvement Team for Convención Hispana 2010. José is a graduate of the Cleveland Bridge Builders' Flagship Class of 2008 and is a member of LeadDIVERSITY's Flagship Class of 2010 through Cleveland's Diversity Center. In his free time, José enjoys cooking, traveling, reading, and dying by the sword of Cleveland's sports teams (it's a love/hate thing!).
Latest: Acts to Follow: Burning River Festival, posted in Arts
Marianne Frantz
mfrantz@americanwineschool.com / Writer
After spending more than 10 years producing wine events across the country, Marianne Frantz founded the American Wine School for consumers and hospitality professionals in 2002. The school teaches leisure classes and is the exclusive program provider for the London-based Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) in Ohio and Chicago. The school’s tasting center, Cellar Door, operates in Beachwood, Ohio and features a classroom, tasting room and retail shop. A member of the Society of Wine Educators and a Certified Wine Educator, Marianne currently holds a Diploma in Wine and Spirits from WSET and is a candidate for the Master of Wine. In 2006, she earned the Advanced Sommelier qualification from the Court of Master Sommeliers and is currently a Master Sommelier candidate. Marianne writes regular wine columns for TheWineBuzz and is a contributing writer for City Visitor and national trade publications such as Restaurant Hospitality. Additionally, she hosts Wine On the WAVE, a weekly radio segment on 107.3FM in Cleveland and travels the country on behalf of Schott Zwiesel educating consumers on facts behind the wine glass.
Latest: At Cellar Door: In The Mix, posted in Food & Drink
Cheryl Higley
chigley@oh.rr.com / Writer
Cheryl Higley is a freelance writer based in Avon Lake. Her full-time job is mother and chauffeur to three daughters ages 11, 10 and 6.
Latest: Principal Focus, posted in Health & Education
Erich Lasher
lasher216@gmail.com / Writer
Erich Lasher is the self-described resident wino and beer nerd at La Cave du Vin in Cleveland Heights. His knowledge of and passion for beer is well-known among La Cave's loyal following, who come to sample from hundreds of hard-to-find, unique beers personally selected by Lasher. He has helped craft beer lists for numerous area restaurants, uniting his culinary acumen with his trained palate. He has traveled all over the globe, wining and dining, and is a trained thespian, martial artist and cat lover.
Latest: Behind the Bar: Flavor Trip, posted in Food & Drink
Eleanor LeBeau
eleanorlebeau@yahoo.com / Writer
Visual arts writer Eleanor LeBeau is a native Clevelander who recently returned from a five-year walkabout in Arizona and California. In 2007, she earned an M.A. in Visual and Critical Studies from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Her exhibition previews and reviews, feature stories, museum guides and arts-related news articles have appeared in Art Papers, Contemporary, Cleveland Scene, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Northern Ohio Live, Sacramento News & Review and Sactown Magazine. Her interests include performance studies, social practice and the intersection of cultures expressed in contemporary American art, with an emphasis on the work of North American indigenous peoples. She holds undergraduate degrees in art history and journalism from Kent State.
Latest: The Decoder: Art, Not Artifact, posted in Arts
Chris Minnillo
chrisminnillo@gmail.com / Writer
Chris Minnillo has devoted his life to the potent potable. He has involved himself variously and intimately in the wine business - making it, selling it. He is a cocktail enthusiast and bartender. He makes hard cider from Ohio apples. He has enough homebrewing equipment to keep the Australian Navy drunk for a week. He loves everything with two wheels and a motor. He has a hard time deciding between Steely Dan or the Supersuckers or Merle Haggard. And he generally loves to share his passion for the place he calls home - the people, the food, the art, the architecture, the history, the neighborhoods and the life of being a Clevelander. He writes about adult beverages and more at http://ciderworks.blogspot.com.
Latest: Short Supply, posted in Food & Drink
Paulius Nasvytis
paulius@velvettangoroom.com / Writer
Paulius Nasvytis opened the Velvet Tango Room in 1996. There Nasvytis and his team have focused on handcrafted cocktails that not only preceded the currents trends, but also proved influential on the current local and national cocktail scenes. Through the years, the VTR has received numerous local, national and international accolades, including recent highlights in Food & Wine magazine, (“Top 100 Bars in America,”,March 2009), Budget Travel (“Top Nine Speakeasies,”,August 2009), USA Today (“Top 10 Speakeasies in the USA,” February 2009), and Condé Nast (“2008 International Hotlist”). To learn more about the VTR, visit www.velvettangoroom.com,
Latest: Cocktails 101: The New School, posted in Food & Drink
Kevin Nortz
kevinnortz@gmail.com / Photographer
Kevin Nortz (b. 1981) grew up in Toledo, Ohio. He is a graduate of Ohio University’s highly regarded Visual Communications program, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in photojournalism with a specialization in anthropology. Over the past five years, he's traveled throughout southeast Asia, Thailand and the Philippines shooting for the Asia Times, and later worked in Seattle as a staff photojournalist for The Washington Post Co. He was named the Pacific Northwestern Photographer of the Year in 2008. He currently resides in Chicago, where he has opened an independent furniture refinishing and restoring workshop (http://hotcoffeemodern.blogspot.com) while his girlfriend pursues a doctorate at Northwestern. An enormously fat cat named Fern lives amongst them.
Stefanie Paganini
stefanie@lpscinc.com / Writer
A graduate of Wittenberg College and Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Stefanie began her professional career as an assistant prosecutor for both Lake and Geauga counties. She joined the family business after attending the Pastry Arts Diploma Program at ICASI, the International Culinary Arts and Sciences Institute. At the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking, Stefanie wears many hats, including those of marketing director and chief legal counsel; currently, she is also the director of student services. She teaches a number of classes in the recreational program, including children's, pastry and hands-on dog biscuit making. Other works includes food stylist credits for Dr. Agaston, creator of the South Beach Diet, and for the Fabulous Food Show in 2007 and 2008, where she worked with such Food Network stars as Guy Fieri, Paula Deen and Duff. Currently, Stefanie co-hosts a monthly cooking show, Dinner and Drinks, on Time Warner Cable's NEON channel. You can also see her on local television programs like Studio 3, Cooking with Hollie Strano, Channel 3 Noon News and Fox 8 News in the Morning. She is a regular guest on Channel 3's Good Company. That's Stefanie's voice you hear each week on the radio segment Paganini's Pantry on the WDOK morning show Trapper Jack in the Morning. An avid world traveler, Stefanie speaks fluent Italian.
Latest: Splendor in the Grass, posted in Food & Drink
Heidi Robb
heidi@heidirobb.com / Writer
With an extensive background working in restaurants, Heidi Robb is a multi-disciplined freelancer specializing in culinary media. Her work includes writing, styling, photography, recipe testing and development for chefs (Michael Symon, Stephen Raichlen) and their cookbooks, product development, advertising and more. She creates food that is desirable and appealing to the senses through print, visual and audio communications. Food is the currency of her communication, and you can find Robb blogging about her Life in Recipes at www.heidirobb.com. She's a self-decribed world traveler, music lover, yoga practitioner and tequila afficionado. She can usually be found smiling.
Latest: The Spice Trade: Asian Pop Culinary, posted in Food & Drink
Karen Sandstrom
ksands7@aol.com / Writer & Illustrator
Karen Sandstrom worked for 18 years at The Plain Dealer, including stints as homes editor, book editor and features editor. In 2009, she enrolled at the Cleveland Institute of Art, where she studies illustration. Her drawings have appeared in The Plain Dealer, and on her blog. Her illustrations for writer Sara Holbrook's book of children's poems, Zombies! Evacuate the School, will be published in October by Boyds Mills Press.
Latest: Sketchbook Cleveland: Edgewater, posted in Region
Amelia Sawyer
amelia.zatik-sawyer@thegreenhousetavern.com / Writer
Writer Amelia Sawyer describes herself best on her popular blog, Chef's Widow: "Woman. Mother. Chef's Widow. Champagne harlot. Sour beer aficionado. Large handbag collector. Obscenely expensive shoe lovah. Blonde. Redhead. Brunette. Breastfeeder. Pug-fox terrier belly scratcher. Pitbull advocate. Drunken break dancer. Bartender to the stars. Semiconscious writer. Earth loving. Tori Amos listening. Loud mouth. Chef-loving lady..."
Latest: Family Style, posted in Food & Drink
Bev Shaffer
bev.foodwithattitude@gmail.com / Writer
Bev Shaffer is a chef, food writer, cookbook author [COOKIES to die for!, No Reservations Required, BROWNIES to die for!, Mustard Seed Market & Cafe Natural Foods Cookbook], culinary instructor, and makes frequent guest appearances on TV and radio, cooking and calming food phobias. She can be reached through her website, www.bevshaffer.com or at bev.foodwithattitude@gmail.com, where you can sign up for her bi-weekly e-newsletter, BITE THIS!
Latest: A Sap for Ohio Maple Syrup, posted in Food & Drink
John Shaffer
shaffer.jr@gmail.com / Photographer
John Shaffer is a freelance food and nature photographer. His work has appeared in publications including the Plain Dealer and Northern Ohio Live magazine. He is the husband of noted culinary author and chef Bev Shaffer, and has worked with her as photographer and food stylist for COOKIES to die for!, No Reservations Required, BROWNIES to die for! and the Mustard Seed and Cafe Natural Foods Cookbook. John was the first president of the Ronald McDonald House of Akron, and currently serves on its board of directors.
Doug Trattner
doug@trattner.net / Contributor
Douglas Trattner has covered the Northeast Ohio food and dining scene for close to a decade. His restaurant reviews and industry news columns have appeared almost weekly since 2001, first in Free Times, then later in Scene, where he presently is Dining Editor. Trattner also is the author of Moon Cleveland, the definitive travel guidebook to Northeast Ohio. In addition to his local food writing, Trattner's work has appeared in the Plain Dealer, Wine & Spirits, Miami Herald and Insider Ohio, where he acts as managing editor.
Latest: ChowTalk: Episode 5, posted in Food & Drink
Carlo Wolff
carlo.wolff@gmail.com / Writer
Carlo Wolff writes for numerous publications including The Boston Globe, the Chicago Sun Times, the St. Petersburg Times, International Watch, HotelNewsNow.com and Asian Hospitality. He specializes in music criticism, book reviews, and feature articles about popular culture, travel, watches, and business. He was Features Editor of LH-Lodging Hospitality magazine from 1990 to 2008. The author of Cleveland Rock & Roll Memories, he lives in South Euclid, Ohio. Read his blog at www.carlowolff.com.
Latest: Green Guardian, posted in Region
Rob Wrobel
robwrobel7@yahoo.com / Writer
Rob Wrobel is a Northeast Ohio native who currently resides somewhere between Manila, Philippines; Brighton, UK; Toronto, Canada and Northeast Ohio. A graduate of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, he has worked in the field of international development since 2003. His programmatic and research interests include community-driven development and reconstruction in areas affected by conflict, and the political economy of international aid. After university, he spent three years roaming around the Afghan countryside trying to manage field operations of the National Solidarity Program, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s flagship rural development program (www.nspafghanistan.org). Later he spent more than two years in Aceh, Indonesia, supporting local government and community-based efforts at rebuilding in the wake of 30 years of conflict (www.conflictanddevelopment.org). He recently took an assignment in the Philippines, and is in the process of completing a master’s degree at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK.
Latest: Regional Relations, posted in RegionDish On Dining
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